Nijaguna Shivayogi was an Indian poet and a prolific writer in the

Kannada language Kannada () is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, an ...

. He lived in the 15th century. He was a follower of the

Veerashaiva The Lingayats are a monotheistic religious denomination of Hinduism. Lingayats are also known as , , , . Lingayats are known for their unique practice of Ishtalinga worship, where adherents carry a personal linga symbolizing a constant, intim ...

faith (devotee of the

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

god

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

), which he attempted to reconcile with the Advaita

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

of Adi Shankaracharya.Sahitya Akademi (1988), p. 1165 Tradition has it that Shivayogi was a petty chieftain of

Kollegal Kollegal (or Kollegala) is the Major taluk in the Chamarajanagara District of Karnataka State in the south of India. Kollegala is well known for its silk industry which attracts traders from all over the state. History Until 1956, Kollegala ...

taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative ...

in modern Mysore district of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

state,

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. Considered a visionary of his time, his ''Vivekachintamani'', written in encyclopaedic proportions and in prose style, and the ''Kaivalya Paddhati'', a musical treatise consisting of songs are considered his most enduring works.Shiva Prakash (1997), p. 190

Writings

The ''Vivekachintamani'', written in ten chapters, characterises by subject over 1500 topics including

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

poetics Poetics is the study or theory of poetry, specifically the study or theory of device, structure, form, type, and effect with regards to poetry, though usage of the term can also refer to literature broadly. Poetics is distinguished from hermeneu ...

erotica Erotica is art, literature or photography that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erot ...

musicology Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, ...

and dance-drama (''natya shastra''). Each topic is divided into sub-topics and each sub-topic is further divided into items. For example, the topic of poetics includes a sub-topical description of ''alamkara'' (figures of speech) which includes 65 types of ''alamkaras''. The writing was translated into

Marathi language Marathi (; , 𑘦𑘨𑘰𑘙𑘲, , ) is a Classical languages of India, classical Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra and is also spoken in Goa, and parts of Guj ...

in 1604, and into

Sanskrit language Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

in 1652 and again in the 18th century, an indication of its importance among medieval Kannada language writings. Shivayogi authored a collection of songs in early 15th century called the ''Kaivalya Paddhati'' (''lit'', "Songs of the pathway to emancipation"). These songs are best described as lyrical ''

swara Swara () or svara is an Indian classical music term that connotes simultaneously a breath, a vowel, a note, the sound of a musical note corresponding to its name, and the successive steps of the octave, or ''saptanka''. More comprehensively ...

Vachanas'' (poems written to notes) set to various classical ''

ragas A raga ( ; , ; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a melodic mode. It is central to classical Indian music. Each raga consists of an array of melodic structures with musical motifs; and, from the perspec ...

'' ("tunes"). They are based on religious, philosophical and reflective themes and are quite unlike those composed by the contemporary

Haridasa The Haridasa Bhakti Sahitya devotional movement (sampradaya) originated in Karnataka, India, after Madhvacharya, and spread to eastern states such as Bengal and Assam of medieval India. Over a span of nearly six centuries, several saints and ...

s (devotee-saint-poets of the god

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

) of Karnataka. This work established Shivayogi as the originator of a mystical form of literature called ''Kaivalya Sahitya'' (''lit'' "Kaivalya literature"), a synthesis of the Veerashaiva and Advaita philosophies, with an emphasis on knowledge as opposed to devotion. His influence on writers in the ''swara Vachana'' genre over the next three centuries is evident. Notable poets who were inspired by Shivayogi include Shadaksharadeva (Muppina Sadakshari), a contemporary poet, Chidananda Avadhuta (17th century), Sarpabhushana Shivayogi (18th century) and the

itinerant poet An itinerant poet or strolling minstrel (also known variously as a gleeman, circler, or cantabank) was a wandering minstrel, bard, musician, or other poet common in medieval Europe but extinct today. Itinerant poets were from a lower class than je ...

Shishunala Sharif.Sahitya Akademi (1987), p. 200 The ''Puratana Trividhi'' is a short work by him consisting of 77 '' tripadis'' (three-line verses) eulogising the 63 Nayanmars (devotee-saints of the Hindu god Shiva) of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. His other compositions include ''Paramanubhava Bodhe'', '' Paramartha Gita'' and ''Anubhavasara''.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shivayogi, Nijaguna Poets from Karnataka History of Karnataka Kannada poets 15th-century Indian poets Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Lingayatism Indian male poets Vijayanagara poets